Free Software Fridays

Thanks for taking one of our CDs in Boston. We've put together a few
short notes on getting started with the CD.

The CD you have is known as a "live" CD, which means you can run the
software directly from the CD to try it out without permanently
installing it. On most computers, you can just put the CD into your
CD/DVD drive and restart your computer.

When you're done, just remove the CD and restart the computer.

If the CD doesn't load when you restart the computer, you may need to
press a key (usually F12) to tell your computer to load from a CD.

What's on the CD?

Wikipedia just one of millions of websites and organizations that use free software.

The first round of CDs from September 2011 contain
GNU/Linux, which is a complete operating system
used by millions of people worldwide instead of Windows or Mac OS X.
With this system, you can surf the web, write documents, send emails,
edit your photos and play games... all the things you'd expect, in
fact.

What makes our software different is that it is free software —
software which respects your freedom.

With free software, you don't need to ask for permission to copy the
software, change the software, or use the software. There are no
licensing registration fees and no frustrating anti-copying measures.
Millions of users and thousands of companies worldwide use free
software because of these freedoms. If you have an Android phone or
use software like
Firefox and
OpenOffice.org,
you're already using some free software.

Who are you?

We're the Free Software Foundation, a 501(c)(3) charity formed in 1985
right here in Boston. Our founder and president, Richard Stallman,
started working on the GNU operating system in September 1983 when he
resigned from MIT to dedicate his time to free software and the free
software movement, a social movement based on the ethics of software
freedom. Our small staff works tirelessly with the
wider free software movement to promote, protect and further the
social goals of sharing and other user freedoms.